The “smokers survey” that can’t tell us anything about “smokers” Reply

We hear that FOREST is paying for a survey with the aim “To find out what smokers really think”.

This is a laudable aim – and chimes with an interest of ours.

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Smoking does NOT prevent dementia 2

Something really weird happens when journalists write stories about nicotine; even when they are reporting on research specifically about nicotine, somehow the end story will be about smoking.  Yet smoking lit tobacco and ingesting nicotine are  quite different.

Join campaigners, researchers and policy makers for a day of learning Reply

David Robertson, Partnerships Lead at ASH Scotland, writes about an exciting upcoming event which he is involved in organising.

Smoking causes, and complicates, Type 2 Diabetes Reply

ASH Scotland Policy and Research Officer, Mike Andrews, writes about the link between tobacco and Type 2 Diabetes.

Protecting children – keeping the air, and the message, clear Reply

ASH Scotland Development Lead for Children & Young People, Joanne Buchan, blogs for us about third-hand smoke and smoke-free homes.

Place matters: Can the retail environment become tobacco free? Reply

In a guest blog, Dr Niamh Shortt of Edinburgh University questions whether it is time to challenge the high density of tobacco outlets in our communities.

The tobacco world is coming to Scotland Reply

We know where we want to go.

Scotland’s ambition to be tobacco-free by 2034 is welcome, ambitious and achievable. Yet in reducing the smoking rate to the small number of adults who willingly choose to do so, it avoids any charge of prohibition and respects individual freedoms.

Problem of smoke drift between neighbouring homes 1

Guest blog by Marilena Savva, MSc student at Aberdeen University

An increasing number of people are annoyed and upset by the smell of tobacco smoke entering their homes because their neighbours smoke.

There is no law to prevent this smoke drift as the ban on tobacco use in enclosed public places doesn’t extend to common stairwells and private residences.

For non-smokers, second-hand smoke (SHS) is more than just a nuisance. It has been shown to have acute and chronic effects on the health of those who breathe it in.

Display ban in small shops – claims and counterclaims Reply

Starting on 6 April, the tobacco display ban that already applies in supermarkets will extend to corner shops and other smaller stores.

Cigarettes and other tobacco will be out of sight behind small grey doors. The aim is to also to put tobacco out of mind and out of fashion among young people – an important step as Scotland moves forward with its ambition to achieve a generation free from tobacco by 2034.

Here are some of the myths about the impact of the display ban commonly peddled by Big Tobacco and retailers – and the facts that counter them:

Did you know smoking affects dementia? Reply

We sometimes think that it’s hard to prevent dementia and that the focus should be on giving the best care after diagnosis.

But there is a risk factor that can be avoided – smoking.

There’s a growing body of evidence about the link between dementia and both tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke.